AN Online media site from the NY Daily News has reported that Michael Wagner of Ontario, Canada “… was forced to make the hardest decision of his life: Choose which of his twin daughters would receive a life-saving donation. In the end, Wagner chose to donate part of his liver to Phouc, since she was the weaker of the twins, but the Wagner family made a desperate appeal to the public to find a donation for her sister, Binh. The appeal was met less than three months later, after a mysterious donor stepped forward to save the toddler’s life.”

The report continued: “Phouc and Binh have a rare genetic condition known as Alagille syndrome, characterized by abnormalities in the liver, heart, and other parts of the body, and also causes distinctive facial features.”
Michael and his wife, Johanne, adopted the girls from Vietnam in 2012, knowing that they had the condition. After Phouc’s surgery in February, her parents used social media to appeal to the public in hopes of finding a liver donor for Binh. More than 400 generous individuals responded to the appeal, and according to the family’s Facebook page, their appeal was met this month.
“BINH RECEIVED HER GIFT!!!” the family wrote this month on a Facebook page they designed to document the experience. “There are not enough words to thank the amazing and so unselfish donor.” Binh is now recovering from her liver transplant, and according to their parents, both girls are doing well.
In the human condition of this world, where there is so much conflict and adversarial approaches to problem-solving, these moments and these humane actions stand out like rare and exquisite gems in the diadem of the human family.
As the political fray in the land escalates, Guyanese need to take a deep, collective breath and reflect on what makes us unique as a people; and that special quality that identifies us as a Guyanese nation descended from a tapestry of various cultures has evolved into a rich blend of acculturation, whereby neighbours live, except for elections season, with much affection and care for each other’s welfare.
This is too precious to sacrifice, and invaluable to our national pride and identity. This is our real treasure, among a plethora of God-gifted bounties that the Lord bestowed on our land that could take our country completely out of the realms of poverty, and transport us into the realms of unsurpassing development.
But for this to fructify, we first must recognise the imperative of working together to achieve our optimum potentials, first as individuals, then as family units, followed by the societal construct of our country, then finally, in this global village now fully interconnected by modern telecommunication linkages.
It is this human connection of the world that saved the lives of the beautiful twin girls, when angels in human form, Michael and his wife Johane adopted the desperately ill children and provided them with an opportunity for a better quality of life, and life itself; and the stranger who so unselfishly did what even some family members would not do to save the life of a child, with no divides being considered.
The bonding factor that created the linkages in the family of humanity from different parts of the world to save and enhance the lives of two precious children is the humanity that resides in everyone of the human family, for we were created in the Lord’s mould, but left to make choices.
Every person needs to reflect on the choices they would take in the course of the journey on the pathways of the world – to build or destroy: To take lives or to give to enrich lives.